Camp seeks donations to continue helping kids with cancer

A local camp for children who have cancer is seeking donations, with a goal of $50,000.

Camp Anuenue is a free, weeklong camp for children in Hawaii who have or have had cancer. The camp has operated for over 30 years and serves about 40 to 60 children, ages 7 to 18, each year.

The camp is run by actor B.K. Cannon and Alison James, a former counselor.

At 3 years old, Cannon was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer. She began treatment at the Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children and later at the University of California, San Francisco. After receiving a bone marrow transplant, Cannon went into remission two years later.

Cannon began attending Camp Anuenue at 7 years old and continued to attend for 20 consecutive years.

“I tell people all the time that I don’t know the kind of person I’d be without camp because it’s a family and a community of people who really understand exactly what the cancer experience is,” Cannon said.

The camp was established by the American Cancer Society in 1985. The organization continued to sponsor the camp until 2014, when it announced that it would pull its funding for camps and refocus its efforts.

“American Cancer Society determined that they needed to take a more concentrated effort in certain areas and focus on saving the most lives possible,” said Alaina Cunningham, executive director of community development for the American Cancer Society Hawaii Pacific Division Office.

The organization notified camp officials of the change one year in advance and helped them switch to a new partner, Camp Mokuleia.

The two camps partnered for three years, using designated funds from the American Cancer Society, before Cannon and James established the camp as its own independent nonprofit this year.

While Camp Anuenue’s staff is all volunteers, Cannon said running the camp costs $75,000 each year. These costs include lodging, meals, activities and supplies.

Daily activities include swimming, zip lining and special events such as a drive-in movie theater and camp prom.

“Some of our costs are a little more specialized to the medical part of our camp because we do have kids on active treatment,” Cannon said. “Sometimes we’ll have to drive them out to the hospital and then come back, and certain medical equipment that we need to have on hand at the site.”

The camp also flies in children from the neighbor islands and U.S. territories such as Guam, Saipan, Samoa and the Marshall Islands.

Camp volunteers have made fundraising efforts to help raise money for the camp, but Cannon said they are still short of their goal.

Camp Anuenue begins Saturday. For more information or to make a donation, visit savecampanuenue.com.